Dani gives me a smile and lets go of my hand. “You’d better stay with him, so he doesn’t get into any trouble.”
Haley wakes up again when Damon goes, “Hay Girl, damn. I just saw the photos of your leg. You’re like half-bionic now.”
Haley starts crying. “Is Pace dead?”
“What?” Damon says. “No, he’s not. He’s fine. No one probably told you anything because you were in surgery. And he was in surgery for quite a while too. He has a lot of broken bones and is pretty banged up, but they think he’ll be okay.”
“It was scary, Damon. I was shaking him, but he wouldn’t wake up. I thought he was dead. Right there in his car.”
Damon slides his hand across the top of her forehead and pushes her hair out of her face. “Shh,” he says. “Don’t cry, Hay. It’s going to be fine. I promise.”
“And what about Chase and Dani? Are things ever going to be normal again?”
Damon glances over at me and lets out a tired-sounding sigh. “I sure hope so.”
“What was that all about?” I ask Damon as we leave her room.
“That’s why kids shouldn’t do drugs,” he replies with a laugh. “They must have her on some pretty good stuff.”
“She just had major surgery. It would make sense. And you’re avoiding the question.”
“I told Haley about what you told me about school,” Damon says.
“And you told your sister.”
“I did. It affects me, so therefore, I can tell whoever I want.”
I nod in agreement. “I guess that’s true. I’ll figure it out after the game.”
We look at each other, eyes wide.
“The game,” he repeats.
“We need to get home, get some sleep. We’re supposed to be on the bus to go to the stadium at three.”
“It’s six in the morning. Wow. Time flies when you’re having fun,” Damon deadpans.
“We need sleep. I don’t think the dozing off we did in those hard chairs counts.”
“No, it doesn’t. Let me call Dad. Have him call Coach.”
“Coach already knows, boys,” Coach says as we step back into the waiting room.
Dani comes to stand next to me. “I forgot all about your game,” she says.
“So did we,” I admit. “I guess in the big picture, a state championship isn’t all that important.”
“Now, now,” Pace’s dad says, “Pace wouldn’t want to hear that from you. He wants another ring. So, go out there and win him one tonight.”
“Yes, sir,” Damon says.
Questioning my decision.
Devaney
On the way home, I sit next to Chase. Although we’ve been holding hands all night—well, the three of us have—things feel different between us. And I can tell Chase is still struggling. Not just because of his sister’s accident, but also from what went on with us before.
And now, I’m questioning my decision to make him relive that day.
I thought it would help us heal, but I’m not sure it did.
Because instead of him blaming me, he has to now take on some of the burden for what happened.
And I’m not sure he wants to.
Or if he thinks I’m worth it anymore.
But holding his hand. Holding my brother’s hand. And worrying about Haley together—I know that when she comes home, I’m going to be here. And I don’t care if Chase likes it or not. I’m going to fight for it. Fight for them. Fight for us.
“Why don’t we all go sleep in our movie room?” I suggest. “It’s quiet and dark down there.”
“Uh,” Chase says, “I need to go to my house. Tell Madden and Ryder what happened. I’ll see you later, okay?”
“I’ll be at your game, so you definitely will.”
Saturday, December 7th
A little off.
Devaney
The game is not going well.
It’s been a tough twenty-four hours, and it’s obvious that the team is still reeling over the news about the accident.
Not to mention, our star running back isn’t in the game.
Chase looks a little off. Damon has missed numerous passes, and honestly, it’s sort of a miracle we’re still in the game.
Normally, the whole family would be here to cheer them on, but most everyone is either helping out at home or at the hospital, so it’s just me, my dad, and Chase’s dad.
Haley and her mom video-chatted with Chase before the game, which was nice, but they also shared that Pace had a setback—some increased swelling on his brain—which didn’t sound good.
At the end of the third quarter, the scoreboard shows us trailing by three, a score of 24-27.
And although we clearly know that this game doesn’t mean that much in the grand scheme of life, it is a pretty big deal. If they win this game, it will mean that this team has lost only two games in four years and will have won four consecutive state championships.
The dance team is out on the field, doing their usual routine, when our sideline erupts in cheers. Like, the guys are whooping it up, hollering, and high-fiving like they’d already won.
Our phones all ding at the same time with a text from Haley.
It’s a photo of Pace, awake and sitting up in his bed. He’s got a team jersey wrapped around him, and he’s got his hand, the one not in a cast, held up in the air to form a claw. For his team, the Jaguars.
But it’s the words below the photo that matter the most.
Haley: We’re listening to the game. Pace is awake. Swelling has dissipated. Brain is normal—well, as normal as it was before the crash.
And he says you’d all better stop messing around, score a few touchdowns, and win this thing!
Go Jags!
A moment to appreciate.
Chase
Hearing the news that Pace is going to be okay pumps the team up and allows me to breathe a little easier.
“What do you say, Coach? A little razzle-dazzle in his honor to take the lead?” I ask.
“Hell yeah!” Damon says as Coach nods his head in agreement.
“Who wants under center?” I say to the team.
“Me,” Reed, who plays cornerback on defense, surprises me by saying. “I’ll get you the ball, Chase. Then you and Damon can do your thing.”
I look at Coach, who nods at me.
Although pretty much every team in the state has seen the play, this setup is different. Instead of Pace or our backup running back lining up in the wildcat, we have a cornerback, a guy who isn’t normally on the field with the offense. You can tell the other team is scrambling, trying to figure out what we’re going to do.
Playing cornerback is one of the hardest positions in football. Not only do they have to defend against the fastest guys on the other team—the wide receivers—but they are also called on to blitz and defend running plays. If I saw a guy like him lined up, I’d think we were going to call something like double reverse.
The defense brings both of their cornerbacks in to cover trick run plays, but our line holds them just long enough for Reed to toss me the ball. And by the time they realize what we are about to do, I’ve already thrown a pass so on target that it literally falls into Damon’s hand, mid-stride, as he races into the end zone.